2021 was an extremely busy year for Love Property Lettings. We saw lots of change, changes in legislation, renting habits, prices and even landlords! Take a minute to read what Sal our Head of Lettings has to say about the past 12 months....
2021 was an extremely busy year for Love Property Lettings. We saw lots of change, changes in legislation, renting habits, prices and even landlords!
Legislation wise, we had the introduction of compulsory electrical checks, changes in laws for carbon monoxide detectors, the introduction of the Debt respite scheme (breathing space), changes on right to rent checks (i.e. the introduction of share codes), the stopping and starting of the evictions and numerous changes in notice periods, it was hard to keep up at times.
We also saw a huge increase in demand from applicants looking for property, this has been driven by many factors. The pandemic allowed us to spend more time at home than ever before which highlighted all the things we were not happy about, whether it be more space needed due to permanent home working, the desire for more outside space after being cooped up for months on end, the desire to live closer to family after spending so much time apart, proximity to work in order to cut down on the dreaded commute, moving for work if you had sadly lost your job in the pandemic, changes in family circumstances be it the breakdown of a marriage or the arrival of a new baby, the reasons have been so varied.
Applicants have been happy to take a property from just a facetime viewing, something we would not have entertained pre Covid, we wouldn’t have seen them as “serious” applicants! Unfortunately this demand has affected the cost of renting in the area and we have seen rents increase considerably in the last 12 months. We have also seen house prices rise on the sales side of our business, this has given many landlords a reason to sell up, this along with the constant demands that the government seem to put on them has given the disillusioned landlord a reason to get out. We have seen a considerable amount of long term tenants looking for new homes due to landlords selling, this has been an upsetting reality of the shift in the market.
On the positive side, the pandemic has given a lot of people a chance to save money which they have invested in the buy to let market. We have been able to sell a lot of these properties with tenants in situ ‘off market’ to new landlords meaning that tenants get to stay in their homes with no upheaval, the existing landlord receives rent right up to completion day and the new landlord hits the ground running with no void period meaning happy customers all round.
Anyone who is considering becoming a landlord and purchasing a property to let out needn’t worry about whether they will find a tenant, we are seeing multiple applicants to every property that comes up for rent. So if you are thinking about a buy to let venture and would like some advice on the process, get in touch and we would be more than happy to assist you. We also operate a buy to let landlords list, we constantly keep an eye on the market and will keep you posted with anything that shows potential as a buy to let investment.
For more information call Sal on 01748 834373.
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